I’m certainly not tired of my current carpet, and it’s scarcely three years old, so we’re certainly not talking replacement. But oh how I wish I’d seen antelope patterns when we last carpet-shopped! Chances are I wouldn’t have talked Chris into it, but a girl can dream, can’t she?
Maybe if I showed him some of these dreamy antelope-carpeted rooms…
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| Paul Raeside |
Designer Garrow Kedigian used Stark Antilocarpa in his Montreal sitting room, as well as on the staircase. He quips that it's an homage to Canada's fur-trading industry and admits the pattern is a hard-sell with his clients in spite of its neutral qualities. See/read more about this home at House Beautiful.
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| BHG |
I love how the antelope mixes so well with bright colors and bold prints--even other animal prints (though I've never seen a green cheetah).
Animal prints always go well with flora and fauna--it's the nature tie-in--but antelope even tops its animal kingdom brothers in my book.
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| Jan Showers via The Peak of Chic |
I swear I could get even MORE work done with this underfoot. That desk is nothing to sneeze at either! Follow the link to see more spaces by Jan Showers Interior Design.
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| Connie Newberry |
A reality check and a story
Because dreams are all I have of antelope carpet for now, I got to wondering how the carpet compares with actual antelopes. Not that I’m planning to hunt one down and skin it, or even adopt one as a pet. But the carpet is so beautiful, I knew the animal had to be, too.
The first summer in our condo was unbearably hot, so we were always looking for weekend entertainment that kept us cool. The car AC kept up with the 100-degree temperatures better than our HVAC, so we took a drive in the country. Western Indiana’s Parke County has a higher concentration of covered bridges than any other U. S. county—31 in total—and holds a Covered Bridge Festival every fall. We’re not much for crowds, so we never attend, but the four routes to see the bridges make beautiful, leisurely drives off-season when they’re not jammed with festival-goers.
On one of those routes we happened across a doe and her two fawns nibbling on corn in a field. The corn in Indiana gets pretty high, so all we saw at first was the mama’s head bobbing up and down as she ate. Then, out of nowhere, these two smaller forms leapt up and down, first one, then another, then the other again. We pulled over to the side of the road to watch, but once the doe saw us she bounded across the road into some woods, where she turned and waited for her offspring to follow, which they did, awkwardly, one by one. We got a good look at the babies then, and they still had their spots!
The way the three of them pranced in the corn reminded me of musical notes dancing across a score, and now whenever I see antelope carpet I think of those two fawns and that day. How we decorate our houses should tell a story, right? This carpet would do that for me.
'Species' of antelope carpet
Stark, Couristan, Karastan, and Glen Eden all make variations of antelope carpet in different shades and pattern intensities. Most of the choices fall in the tan-to-chocolate-brown range, but taupe and gray options are offered as well. One manufacturer even has a blue version, which isn’t at all what I had in mind, but in the right setting it would be stunning.
I like that most antelope carpet reads as a neutral but adds visual texture. And it maintains its neutral stance even when lots of pattern and color are used along with it, as in this example:
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| MeKenzie France via The English Room |
Taking stock
New carpet is at least five years down the road for me, probably longer. So if I can’t have antelope carpet, what are my other options?
- Antelope fur pillow case, 100% polyester, 20 by 30 inches, $27.99
- Faux antelope hide rug printed on faux suede, 58 by 93 inches, $199.
- African Queen II wallpaper by Rasch, $79.98 per double roll.
- Patterned jacquard antelope throw, 100% cashmere, 50 by 65 inches, $299.
They all leave me feeling kind of flat. What about you? No spots on the pillow case, I'm not a wallpaper fan and I especially don’t think I’d like this in anything except MAYBE a bathroom, the “hide” looks more like a cow than an antelope, and the throw is just boring.
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| Grandin Road |
Now here's pillow that's more to my liking. It's from Grandin Road's natural hide pillow collection, is 20-inches square and sells for $95. It's actually called "spotted" so it may be emulating a deer rather than an antelope, but that's okay. Kinda pricey, but I might be able to work this into the master bedroom refresh I'm planning. It will at least make it to my mood board because I KNOW it would look good on my bed.
What about an AREA rug? Any dealer who carries the brands mentioned earlier could probably custom order an area rug. But thankfully that won’t be necessary.
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| Ballard Designs |
Here’s a closer look:
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| Ballard Designs |
It’s not wall-to-wall by a long shot (swerve for puns), but maybe it will tide me over until our next carpet-hunting safari.
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